Manchester United have arrived back at Manchester Airport after their pre-season tour of China.

The first-team squad and manager Jose Mourinho landed at around 4.30am on Tuesday and were greeted by a number of fans at the terminal.

Players, including Marcus Rashford and Chris Smalling, were pictured signing autographs and posing for selfies with the waiting supporters after their long flight from Beijing.

They returned home disappointed after their scheduled match against Manchester City - the first Manchester derby set to be played on foreign soil - was cancelled.

The match had to be called off because bad weather had left the pitch at the Bird's Nest unplayable and it was the final leg of a challenging tour due to weather issues, transport problems and difficult pitches.

Jose Mourinho was greeted by fans.

The players were expected to have Tuesday and Wednesday off before returning to training at Carrington on Thursday. United play Galatasaray in Gothenburg on Saturday before facing Everton at Old Trafford next week in Wayne Rooney’s testimonial.

They play Leicester at Wembley in the Community Shield on August 7 before starting their Premier League campaign with a trip to Bournemouth a week later.

Luke Shaw and Juan Mata sent United fans messages saying that the players share their disappointment over the cancelled match.

Luke Shaw arrives home.

Mata, via the club's official Twitter feed, took the opportunity to thank the fans in China for their continued support of the club - and that he hopes to be back in the country soon.

He said: "I know you are all disappointed, so are we. I just wanted to say thank you very much for your amazing support here in China.

"In Shanghai and and now in Beijing we've felt that you really love the club, you really love United - so we are really disappointed because we were looking forward to the game.

The Three Amigos, David De Gea, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera.

"I'm sure we will be back very soon, thank you very much for your support and I hope to see you soon."

Shaw explained: "Obviously I know you're [the fans] all disappointed but as players we're all very disappointed too because we've come out here to play in front of all the fans.

"We know how much you love us all and we love playing in front of you.

"We're so sorry. If we could change it, we want to play right now but that's the final decision and we can't play. Hopefully we will see you all soon."

Wayne Rooney at the airport.

Despite the problems on the tour, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward gave some hope for disappointed locals who were looking forward to see the game.

In a joint statement with City, he said: "It's extremely disappointing not to be able to play the game in this amazing stadium but the recent torrential rain would have caused problems anywhere in the world and has left the pitch unplayable.

"We know our fans in China will, like the players and staff, be saddened by the cancellation of the match but I am sure they appreciate that the player safety has to be the top priority.

"I am sure we will return to the Bird's Nest in the future to give them the chance to see the team in action."

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